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Senior Manager, Operations
21st Century Fox
Chicago, IL, United States
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OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANYNational Geographic
The National Geographic Channels form the television and production arm of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and the National Geographic Society. As a global leader in premium science, adventure and exploration programming, the Channels include: National Geographic Channel (NGC), Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Additionally, the Channels also run the in-house television production unit, National Geographic Studios. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with entertaining, innovative programming from A-level talent around the world, and with profits that help support the society’s mission. Globally, NGC is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages, and Nat Geo WILD is available in 131 countries and 38 languages. National Geographic Partners is also a leader in social media, with a fan base of 250 million people across all of its social pages. NGC contributes over 55 million social media fans globally on Facebook alone.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Operations Senior Manager will successfully lead, manage and hold accountable the Operations team responsible for luxury international travel programs, as well as their associated finances.
Essential Duties
• Lead, manage and hold accountable the Operations team consisting of Managers and Coordinators. Conducts weekly meetings with staff and ensure that they are on task, producing accurate work, meeting deadlines and working toward goals. Counsel on difficult work situations. Develop and train on new procedures when needed. Write and deliver performance reviews for direct reports and recommend professional growth opportunities. Make hiring recommendations and train new Operations staff as needed. Support and enforce company systems, policies, procedures and productivity standards. Manage staff time-off requests to minimize impact on team operation. Support and enforce company policies and values at all times. Oversee the execution of operational agreements with global suppliers for recurring programs. Oversee the costing of products. Oversee training of new employees. Accountable for profitability on all team trips.
• Well-run department that ensures brand standards are met or exceeded and profit is maximized.
• Coordinate with local in-country operators regarding all bookings, logistics coordination, extra arrangements, special considerations, trip details, etc. Independently manage bookings for trip departures by monitoring room counts, release dates, attrition clauses and deposit and payment dates for each trip. Communicate clearly and accurately all trip logistics and needs via email, Skype and phone. Conduct briefing calls with operators and hold them accountable for implementation of on-the-ground logistics. Request, negotiate and finalize next-season operational agreements with each operator. Maintain strict adherence to internal and program deadlines. Insure that each departure meets or exceeds brand standards.
• Ensuring ground logistics meet or exceed brand standards.
• Request invoices for new bookings, extra arrangements and trip cancellations. Review invoices for operational and financial accuracy. Request payments to suppliers, vendors and contractors. Reconcile trip invoices to budgets and all tour staff salary payments to budget. Responsible for final trip reconciliation and keeping budgets updated and accurately reflecting program costs. Request, negotiate and finalize next-season pricing for repeat departures series. Accountable for group-series profitability. Insure that each departure maximizes profitability by operating at or above budgeted projected profit.
• Maximize profitability by operating at or above budgeted projected profit.
• Contribute to the creation of some departmental processes and procedures for the seamless operation of trips. • • Oversee the creation of documents that implement these same policies/procedures. Work cross-functionally to determine, create and implement processes and procedures that enhance the seamless transition of products from one department to another.
• Maintaining or increasing brand standards and customer retention.
• Contributes to the development of CRM for department, determining departmental priorities and working with developer to build out needed procedures and implement changes.
• Increased departmental efficiencies and reduction in errors.
• Assist in staffing after-hours emergency phone on a rotating basis.
• Provides excellent customer service and reduces corporate liability.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 5 years related experience. Extensive international destination experience required. Experience managing direct reports and a demonstrated ability to successfully manage and motivate a team.
• Impeccable professional communication skills; foreign language skills a plus. Must be able to communicate complicated information in a clear and simple manner to people around the world for whom English is not their native language.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate problems and find creative solutions for challenging situations. Strong math skills; ability to create and maintain budgets.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office; strong Excel skills. A background using QuickBase or other databases or CRM software is a plus.
• Highly organized, able to multi-task and manage several programs and/or departures at the same time and across multiple destinations. Unwavering accuracy, excellent and systematic organizational skills and flawless attention to detail are necessary. A positive attitude is essential and a key to success in the position. Enjoy working in a fast-paced professional office environment. Experience traveling overseas and extensive destination knowledge is required. Our travelers are typically well educated and well traveled and the ability to talk about destinations from first-hand experience is important. Experience working with luxury-oriented clients is a plus.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable law.